Disney Launches Friends For Change

Friends For Change:Project Green is a multiplatform environmental initiative that will help kids help the planet. Disney stars Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato are among the 29 young stars participating in outreach messages to debut on Disney Channel, Disney XD, Radio Disney and Disney.com. The Disney’s Friends for Change: Project Green initiative invites young people to join together to help the environment across four key areas: climate, water, waste and habitats. Kids will learn practical ways to preserve the planet, track their collective impact and have the opportunity to vote on how $1 million in donations from Disney will be divided and invested in various environmental causes over the course of a year.

“With Disney’s Friends for Change, we’re empowering kids to tap into the potential that lies within each and every one of them to make a difference,” said Bob Iger, president, The Walt Disney Company.

“Building on our recently announced environmental goals, this program highlights what is possible as we leverage Disney’s reach to educate and inspire environmental stewardship in others.”

Beginning Friday, May 15, Disney Channel and Radio Disney will air the first in a year-long series of on-air messages that will feature Disney Channel stars challenging kids to join them in registering and pledging environmental stewardship by making small changes in their daily actions that can positively impact the world around them.

“We were inspired by the outpouring of enthusiasm from our family of talent to enact real environmental change by connecting with other kids, fans and friends on an entirely new level,” said Rich Ross, president, Disney Channels Worldwide. “Friends for Change is about the power of friendship – when we all work together, anything is possible.”

If 500,000 kids participate in Disney Friends for Change: Project Green events, together they can:

- Prevent approximately 100,000 tons of CO2 per year from polluting the air by adjusting their home thermostats.

- Save 5 million gallons of water in a single day by reducing shower times.

- Prevent 1 million pounds of waste from entering landfills by bringing trash-free lunches for a week.

- Create new habitats for local animals by planting 500,000 trees.

Kids can pledge to join online at Disney.com, where they’ll commit to take simple everyday actions, such as turning off the lights and switching to reusable water bottles, and find out more about why these actions matter. Through the online community, kids will be able to invite friends to join, interact with one another and take pride in the results of their efforts as their collective impact on the planet is tallied and their votes determine the distribution of charitable contributions.

Climate, water, waste and habitat will each be highlighted for three months, culminating in quarterly events where on a designated day, kids will be encouraged to act in unison on a single task such as adjusting home thermostats or reducing water usage. These events will be tracked online and on air as kids report back on their actions. Kids will also help determine how Disney will donate $1 million to environmental organizations over the course of a year to plant trees, preserve the rainforest, help endangered animals and support alternative energy among other causes.